A LOVELY DAY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

I visited my mom this morning and stayed until after lunch. She is doing well now and her appetite has been changed by the Prednisone her pulmonary has put her on. This steroid should help clear her lungs of fluid and inflammation. I’m hoping to take her home Wednesday.

She wanted KFC, not the wimpy stuff either, the full fat original recipe dark meat with slaw, mac and cheese, and a big biscuit! She loves her some KFC biscuits! She ate both pieces of chicken and a large portion of the sides. I was so happy to see her eat like that!

I left early so I could get home and see Lily. It’s been two weeks since I’ve gotten to see her, so I met her and Judy at Riverfront Park in Harriman. Lily had made friends with a little girl about a year younger and they became each other’s shadows.

The two girls played hard for about 2 hours in the cool, clear, fall air, with the bright colored trees in the background. The little one even learned to slip down the slide on her belly like the older one. It is a shame the two girls may never see each other again.

It took a little gentle coaxing to get her back in the car seat, but we were soon at home, and she was tucked in for an afternoon nap.

Before she knew it, her dad arrived to gather her and her day-school things up for the ride to their house. Corey, Judy, and I visited for about 30 minutes before waking her, but it was time enough to ask Corey to accompany me to the Joe Bonamassa concert Tuesday evening. He agreed, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s night on the town!

More on that later!

It was a lovely day in our neighborhood!

PURVEYOR OF GOOD NEWS

It’s blurry, but it was worth documenting the good news mom’s doctor brought us this morning, “No recurrence of the tumor,” she said, meaning that mom’s 2001 cancer has not come back.

Mom has been in the hospital a week today with a diagnosis of pneumonia. The CT scan confirmed the pneumonia is in the upper right lung and the lower left lung. However, with the antibiotics and breathing treatments over this past week, mom is much improved. She is eating well, and walking each day around the floor.

When we arrived at the emergency room last Sunday, she could barely walk or breathe, and had a temperature of 101. After a four hour wait, she was diagnosed and admitted.

She is still plagued with a debilitating cough that leaves her weak, gasping for breath, and hoarse. Her family doctor has now referred her to a lung (pulmonary) doctor, whose job it will be to rid her of the fluid and infection in her lungs, and therefore, the cough.

I’m hoping she will be discharged by mid-week.

Prior to the CT, an x-ray raised suspicions of a cancer recurrence, but it could not be accurately determined through the fluid surrounding the lungs. Today’s CT scan relieved us all and now she can get on with the business of getting well.

Just outside her hospital window, a beautiful fall is waiting to make her ride home even more enjoyable.

SAYING A FINAL GOODBYE TO UNCLE TOM AND REKINDELING OLD RELATIONSHIPS

Within fourteen hours of being told he had a “mass” on his kidney and liver, Uncle Tom passed away quietly in a Florence, Alabama hospital last week. On Wednesday evening the family gathered to support Aunt Carolyn (and each other) in her grief. She had gone home to get a few things to make her overnight stay in the hospital room more comfortable; when she got the call telling her Tom had slipped away. She feels badly that she wasn’t there, but he was talking to her when she left. It was quite a shock to everyone and only began sinking in at the funeral services on Thursday morning.

It was too quick for the family, but quick enough that he didn’t suffer.

The family gathered on a hillside in Sheffield, Alabama, just across the river from Florence, to say goodbye. Uncle Tom served in the United States Air Force for over 20 years, so the Air Force sent a detail to the funeral. It was a very touching funeral with taps, an honor guard firing rounds in the air, the flag being removed and folded, and finally being presented to Aunt Carolyn.

After the pastor read from the Bible and said his prayer, the pallbearers filed by and left their boutonnières on top of the coffin.

The earlier service was marked by one of his granddaughters reading a poem she had written, one of his daughters reading letters received from friends who couldn’t make it, and a prayer Tom had written in his personal Bible. I read a few words that were heavy on my heart that centered on the “black pepper” incident I once posted.

As is normal for most extended families, we don’t see each other more than a couple of times each year, sometimes its twenty years, and more often than not, the circumstances revolve around a tragedy. “The Cousins” enjoyed seeing each other and we always take the time to take a group shot. We were missing a few in this one, but we are discussing an annual reunion that will keep us in touch. I’ve also encouraged Facebook as a means of staying involved in each others lives, and I have already added several cousins to my “relatives” list.

I don’t know what it is about the “cousins”, but they always make me “act up” and this gathering was no different. I was going around taking one handed photos of me and various cousins…usually the girls for some reason, and having a great time making them laugh.

Happy as we were, we missed, and will miss, Uncle Tom. For the past couple of decades he has kept the family close, taking grandmother’s place as the focal point for our family. It’s now up to us to keep the relationship going. I’m hoping Facebook and a possible annual reunion will do the trick. Otherwise, there is no doubt that we will drift further and further apart. Since we still enjoy “playing” with each other, as we did as kids, that would be an even worse tragedy.

UNCLE TOM HAS PASSED AWAY

In my previous post I mentioned that my Uncle Tom (in the center) was sick...well, he died this morning at 3AM.

It was just two weeks ago that he was visiting here locally with my mom and giving me a big hug. Now, within two weeks he's gone! Man...we should all be so lucky when our times come. At least he didn't have to suffer through chemo and a lot of pain. His kidneys shut down and he went down hill fast.

As you can see in the 2 or 3 post I've had about him (you can search for them if you're interested), I will miss him a lot. He was special to me...laughed at every joke I ever told!

My mom, on the right in the shot above, has no lost 3 husbands, 4 brothers, and 1 sister. Neither her or Aunt Nell (on the left) ever expected to outlive their younger brother Tom.

HANGIN’ WITH MY PARTNER

Corey and I hit Wild Wings in Knoxville today to watch Tennessee play Georgia…great game! We finally put a balanced attack together and came up with 45 big points!

Our team is young with a new coach, but as the games tick by the experience comes. Everyone had better get what they can of us this season, because the VOLS are coming on strong. Corey predicts a championship in 2011! Let’s hope he is right.

The Wild Wings Café was packed, with extra tables set up everywhere there was space. There were plenty of TV screens to watch, at almost any angle, but we sat on the front row at a “high-top” looking directly at the big projected screen on stage. Terrific seats, great food (a 25 piece sampler platter), good tea and Fat Tire, and an enthusiastic crowd of folks dressed in “Big Orange”.

Check out the huge draft of beer, complete with tap, that some tables ordered! With a plastic bag of ice floating on top, there was plenty of cold beer for the entire game.

I was on a high when I got home, but my mom had called telling us that my Uncle Tom is not expected to leave the Florence, AL hospital. He has cancer on one kidney and on his liver, and the prognosis is not good. Mom is very upset because she is 83 years old and about to lose another sibling. Since Tom is 10 years younger than mom makes it especially hard too. Her age makes it difficult to travel and stay away from home for long periods, so I’m not sure what she will decide to do.

Anyway, whatever she decides about going or waiting, I’m here for her.

All in all, a good day with my son is what I’ll remember. Knowing that time takes us all too soon, there is just too much time between the good times, but my partner makes them memorable when they do come around. It’s days like today that I will remember when my time comes.

WHY I PRAY

John Muir once wrote, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul." He was talking about the formation of our great national parks, but I suppose the statement could apply to my bedroom, for it’s true, I have healed and found cheer and strength for my soul there.

Primarily, my room is where I pray, and I don’t just pray for myself, for prayer is not a selfish undertaking. I do pray for my health and well being, but I also pray for the same blessings for my family and non-family members that I care about. If you have expressed a need in your life to me, through our conversations or on your blog or Facebook page, there is a good chance I have prayed for you in my room as well.

Often I hear the distant sound of a siren, or the thumping of the “Life Star” helicopter making its way down the valley to a local hospital, or perhaps a traffic accident, to pick up and transport a victim with special and urgent needs to the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville. Either of those sounds is enough to immediately prompt me to stop what I’m doing and say a little prayer for that unknown person/s and their family.

Prayer is a big part of my life, although you would never know it, even if you followed me day in and day out. It’s private. It often is silent and personally locked away inside my brain. Other times it is an audible whisper of a specific name or need in the darkness of my room called out to my God.

I don’t remember when I first began praying, but it must have been around my sixteenth birthday, for this was the age I was first baptized. Yes, I’ve actually been baptized three times. The first time I was a scared naïve young boy who was frightened by the thought put into my head by a Baptist preacher during "alter call", “What if you walked out of here tonight without answering ‘the call’ and were killed?”

That is scary stuff to a young uneducated mind, and that’s exactly how most acceptances of Christ’s blood occur. I realize such first time events can lead to a long life of Christian dedication, but it does take time to fully understand exactly what it all meant. Later there comes full understanding, but few go back for another baptism.

The second time I “went forward”, as it is known in the Baptist Church, it was because of a great sin in my life. In order to avoid dying and going to hell for my sin, as I believed then, I again accepted Christ and was baptized again.

Many years later, I became part of another church group, totally foreign to my Baptist upbringing, but the doctrine truly spoke to my heart and the logic in my brain. I dropped out of the Baptist Church and accepted this church doctrine and its people and once again was baptized in a long galvanized tub, just long enough for me to stretch out in, and, with the many hands of the church’s deacons and elders pushing me down, I was finally completely submerged! That one is the baptism that I personally accept as being the “real” one and will be the last one I will ever experience.

Anyway, somewhere around sixteen I realized how good I felt if I prayed each morning and night, and I felt better yet if I prayed for everyone I knew, especially those in need. Therefore, it continues today.

A typical prayer outline might go like this:

My wonderful, gracious, and loving Father in Heaven, thank you so much for giving us this day.

I ask that you watch over my mother – keep her safe, healthy, and strong. Thank you for her Father.

Please watch over my brother and his wife.

Watch over my son, his wife, Lily and Kinsley…and thank you for them and bless them.

Watch over my daughter, her husband, and Katie Bug. Please bless them as you have blessed me.

Watch over Danielle and Christi and their babies.

Please watch over me and Judy…keep us safe and healthy and forgive us of our sins. Lead, direct, and protect us Father. Without you Father we are nothing and there is nothing. Thank you from your love, your Grace, and your many, many blessings.

Watch over my brothers and sisters-in-law Father.

Watch over our men and women in the military Father and bring them home safely.

Please watch over our country and protect us from terrorism.

Please watch over…(here I insert names of non-family members I know that need special help, or who have asked to be remembered)

Father watch over and keep us all safe.

In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen

Over the years I’ve prayed for some very serious situations and, more often than not, those prayers have been answered. Therefore, it would be very hard for anyone to convince me that prayer doesn’t work. I don’t demand that my prayers be answered, just that His will is done and that I will accept His decision as best. Although, there have been times when I went “boldly before the throne” and asked that He see my reason for asking for His help.

So, when you see my light go out, please wait a few minutes before disturbing me, because almost immediately, laying there in the dark, with my eyes closed, and my arms bent at the elbows and raised upward, I begin to talk to my Heavenly Father. I may be talking to Him about you!

A BIG WEEKEND IN ROANE COUNTY TENNESSEE

This past Saturday was a big event day in Roane County, Tennessee. Both Rockwood and Kingston held annual events that brought people back into the little rural communities to socialize.

I visited Rockwood's 2009 Fall Festival which was held on the main drag. The event included a beauty pageant, dunking booth, and lots of bouncy things for kids, crafts, hot dogs, baloney sandwiches, fried apple, peach, cherry, lemon, and vanilla pies, popcorn, fried chicken legs and much more!

There was an old tractor and car show and many musical acts including Bill Wright, Russ Roberts, Joanne Cash Yates and more. The music played constantly, one act at a time, while people strolled the street eating and looking at the crafts offered for sale. The antique stores had a continuous stream of "lookers", while child giggled and screamed in glee!

Over in Kingston, about 10 miles away, hundreds of cars were parked on the acreage surrounding the old Southwest Point Fort, and crowds walked to see the 2009 Kingston Country Fair. Craft and food booths were lined around the ball field, and inside the field fence was various things to do like listen to bluegrass music, climb a rock wall, face painting, ride a slow pony to nowhere, or bounce or play in the colored balls!

I missed the antique car show, which, by that time, was cruisin' over to Rockwood's event! Darn! I sure wish the events had been on different weekends!

It was a beautiful day in Roane County with low humidity and fall like temperatures, a bright blue sky, and a warm wind coming out of the west. As a matter of fact, I saw folks having lots of trouble keeping their booth canopies firmly grounded. At Kingston, one tent lifted up and flipped over backwards, leaving one booth worker rubbing her head! At Rockwood, one worker held on to the tent while another made my sandwich!

Anyway, I had a great time eating my fried baloney "samich" and cherry pie! Wish you had been there...you could have held my drink for me!

There are more photos of both events posted HERE!

A VISIT TO ANOTHER RESTORED THEATER

I just wanted to share some photos I took while on a wet and soggy "lessons learned" trip to Maryville, TN Saturday. Capitol Theatre there was restored a few years ago and continues to turn a profit for its owner Heath Claiborne. He told us several pitfalls to avoid and gave us the 50 cent tour.

We found several people visiting their coffee and souvenir shop, milling around the lobby, and many were in the auditorium setting up for a wedding. Gary introduced himself to Benita and Heath Claiborne, owners of the Capitol, and we soon had the 50 cent tour, including the auditorium, the basement, the upstairs interactive video game and lecture room, complete with wide-screen, and Heath’s private artist studio. My apologies to the lady I cut in half!

I went with Gary Baker (right in the group shot) and Dr. Julian Ahler (retired - center of the photo), who have a habit of doing a "road trip" once a month, and have begun inviting me alone. We all work on the Princess Restoration Project in Harriman, so these trips usually involve fact finding for that effort. Although, sometimes we are hunting watermelons, sourdough bread, and homemade cheeses!

Today we found a wonderful doughnut shop (Richy Krème), a used bookstore, and a pint of ale and appetizers at Sullivan's Fine Food in historic downtown Maryville!

As we begin to spend the $1.7M the Princess Foundation just received from TVA, there will be several of these trips, and plenty of opportunities to share my adventures with you!

There are some other shots posted at FLICKR and more about the theater on the Princess Blog!

MUSHY SEES HIS FIRST NFL GAME

Yes, after all these years I finally got to a professional football game. It seems like I saw a pre-season exhibition game twenty or more years ago, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, I was quite pleased with my first experience even though it turned into a very hot and humid day in the sun.

My friend, Gary Baker, invited me and a couple more friends to Sunday’s Titan vs. Texans game in Nashville. It’s only about an hour and a half to Nashville, so we took our time, stopping for a Cracker Barrel breakfast in Lebanon, TN.

I rarely go to University of Tennessee games anymore, preferring to watch in HD from the comfort of my recliner. Fighting the traffic and crowds in Knoxville is just not that much fun. But, this was different…we parked about 200 yards from the main entrance, and walked directly down to our 45-yard line seats with ease! That coupled with the great fellowship and cold Fat Tire beer was something I could enjoy most anytime.

Gary has been down with bad sinus congestion all this week, and I think he thought he was about over it. However, it turned out that the heat, humidity, and the drive was more than he could stand. We didn’t stay the entire game, and started back before the game, which was a fairly boring offensive game, was over. Titans lost 34-31.

Our buddy Nathan Hammond (first to my left in the photos - then David Webb and Gary), took the controls back while Gary sat, eyes closed, in the back. Gary didn’t miss a beat in the conversation though, so he never really went to sleep. However, you can bet he went straight to bed after getting home!

I’m posting this just to tell Gary THANKS, and get well soon! He was a trooper!

BE SURE TO DOUBLE CLICK THE MERGED SHOTS FOR A BETTER VIEW!

MY FAVORITE PROJECT GETS $1.7M IN FUNDING

Some of you news buffs may remember hearing about a devastating ash spill at TVA's Kingston Steam Plant on December 22 of this year. TVA is still engaged in the cleanup of that catastrophic containment breach, and settling with area home owners that lost their homes and property.

In a further attempt to make amends and gain positive PR, the Tennessee Valley Authority has earmarked $43 million in Roane County, Tennessee restoration projects. While education is the primary area needing funding, a portion of that funding, $1.7 million, was awarded to the Princess Foundation Project, a project that I have been a part of since the first of 2009.

In celebration of that good news, I posted this piece on the Princess Theater Blog today:

THE BEST NEWS FOR HARRIMAN IN 40+ YEARS!

The Roane County Economic Development Foundation announced today the projects that will be funded with the money TVA donated on Monday (9/14/09) for the restoration of Roane County, Tennessee.

Today (9/16/09) the Foundation announced the “approved” projects that the $43 million earmarked for Roane County economic development. Those specific projects were:

$5 million: Kingston sewer improvements

$32,000: Rockwood paving improvements

$1.7 million: Princess Theater complex renovation in Harriman

An approval for $32 million for the Roane County school system expansion is anticipated to come very soon.

The $1.7 million for the restoration of the Princess "complex" area in Downtown Harriman, could actually have been included in the promised $32 million that will be directed toward the Roane County school system, since the theater, and the two adjacent buildings, will become an Arts Education and Conferencing Center managed by Roane State Community College. However, it is important to highlight the Princess Project because this project will have a long lasting effect on the County’s educational system, and bring new life to Downtown Harriman area.

Most people think the Princess will become a “movie theater” again, which is far from the truth. True, there may be times a special movie, especially ones created by local movie makers and/or the arts departments of Roane State and the local high schools, is shown and premiered at the Princess Theater, but the truth is the primary purpose of the auditorium segment of the Arts Education and Conferencing Center “complex” (see area #3 in the photo above) will be for arts and event productions, large scale teleconferencing meetings, reunions and similar party and planning events, and live music.

Area #1 (in photo above) is slated to become a TV and radio station operated by the students of Roane State Community College. Area #2 will become part of the lobby of area #3, an area that will showcase art and memorabilia. Area #4 will be used as project related offices, teleconferencing management/control areas, and dressing areas for the various events, shows, and live music.

The result of such a “complex” will be the enhancement of arts education in the area which results in entertainment for the citizens of the area.

As Harriman Mayor Chris Mason said today, “This Princess project will have more of a positive impact on the downtown revitalization than anything else we could have done. The best thing about this project is that it will expand our youth’s education throughout the region and that is what really motivates me to keep going on this project.”

The Mayor went on to say, “Today I have the pleasure to let you know that the Roane County Economic Development Board voted unanimously to give the Princess Foundation for Arts Education and Conference Center $1.7 million for the project. This, combined with the grant will fully finish the project and make it the most technologically advanced building in our county. It will be an extension of RSCC campus where all of our youth will be able to participate and take classes in media production, lighting, stage production, sound design etc. It will bring tourists in from out of town to watch shows on the weekend as well as be the catalyst for economic growth downtown.

I want to thank everyone that has participated in this LONG endeavor including the Harriman City Council that formally passed a resolution requesting that this project be funded. THIS IS THE BEST NEWS THAT HARRIMAN HAS HAD IN THE LAST 40+ YEARS!! This project WILL change the downtown as we currently know it and will change the lives of so many youth in our region.

The projected open date will be Summer 2010.

Thanks again…the future is bright for the City of Harriman!”

HIP, HIP, HOORAY FOR HARRIMAN!

Harriman's 22nd Annual Labor Day Celebration was held this past Monday at Riverfront Park. The celebration is normally held on the blocked-off Roane Street downtown, but the promoters decided to add cooler river breezes and shade trees this year. Those additions did help some, but the day was still very humid, although the temperatures were in the mid-80s.

As Judy and I entered the park, she immediately began meeting people she knew and it seemed like forever before we got to the heart of the celebration, the music, the antique cars, and the wonderful food the many concessionaries had prepared. Judy always seems to see someone she is kin to, used to work with, or someone with which she went to school! Me, no one remembers Mushy! Right!

There were vendors everywhere, selling baskets, jewelry, t-shirts, fried apple pies, brownies, funnel cakes, fried Twinkies or Oreo’s, Sno Kones, hot dogs, fried bologna sandwiches, popcorn, and most anything you can imagine.

The crowds seemed gathered mostly around the hot dog stand and the funnel cake maker, but the wait was well worth the trouble. They were delicious and very satisfying. It was like an old county fair, without the Ferris wheel and hawkers.

Further into the park was the large pavilion where people were square dancing and clapping to the music. Then there it was; the large open field at the north end of the park where all the wonderful old cars were parked! Hordes of people were milling around among the vehicles with fantasies and memories of yesteryear dancing in their heads. I’ve been to the “Cruisin’ in Harriman” shows on Roane Street, but there were only two cars in this showing that I recognized. There were nearly a hundred new cars for me to enjoy!

Judy and I sat by the Emory River and ate our bologna and hot dog lunches, and later we shared a funnel cake. It was a great time with music coming from the pavilion and the large gazebo venues, and many people passing by helping us hone our “people watching” skills.

We left before the Babahatchie Community Band got set up and played, but the couple of hours we spent there was more than enough for two vintage folks! So, we walked back to the soccer field to the car, discussing everything we had seen in the park. It was a great day for us and Harriman.

It’s these local events that need to be supported. If we are ever to bring back the “old days” in the downtown’s of our lives, we must show that we want it to happen. You might wonder what you could do to help revitalize our little town centers, well, it don’t take much, just participation in city and county events. The promoters are trying to draw you in, and get you excited about “small town USA” once again. Please…come on down next time!

Please go to my Flickr “Hooray of Harriman” set and look at all the wonderful people and cars at the event!